Rotary soil-working device



y 20, 1952 c. w. KELSEY ROTARY SOIL-WORKING DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 1, 1946 IN V EN TOR.

ATTOR/VAEY c. w. KELSEY ROTARY SOIL-WORKING DEVICE May 20, 1952.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1, 1946 INVENTOR. Jadmaflader W/(e/sey MIA/'21.

I Illl lill1l Ill M y 20, 1952 c. w. KELSEY 7 ROTARY SOIL-WORKING DEVICE Filed March 1, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v -INVIENTOR;Y

'bawa/hderMZ/fe/sey BY y Patented May 20, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

My invention relates to rotary soil working 'devices and particularly to improvements in those of the so-called wheelbarrow type which are not only adapted for work in extremely confined spaces, such as between closely spaced rows of growers for a power driven cultivator that is efiicient, easy to handle, and to which various auxiliary devices, such as lawn mowers and field mowers, may be attached.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved and simplified means or mechanism for transmitting power from the motor to the soil working tools and also to the wheel which propels the device over the ground. Another object is to provide, in connection with the foregoing, an improved and simplified mechanism for changing the speed of the ground wheel. Another object is to provide a new stabilizing device with means for quickly putting it into or out of operation which will not only function as a stand for maintaining the device upright, when it is not in operation, but which is also adapted so to maintain it when in operation, and particularly when used with an auxiliary attachment such, for example, as a mower.

I accomplish these and other objects by means of the novel elements and the combinations and arrangements thereof described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of my device with certain portions removed, certain portions in section, and certain portions broken away to show details of construction;

Fig. 2 is a section of Fig. 1 in the plane 22;

Fig. 3 is a section of Fig. 2 in the plane 33;

Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 1 in the broken plane 4-4 with certain portions removed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the handles of the device showing an auxiliary handle adapted to permit the operator to walk at the side of themachine instead of behind it;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the means for operating the clutches for changing the gear ratio between the motor and the driving wheel; and

Fig. 7 is ,a"f ragmentary side elevation view of the driving mechanism for the ground wheel which is located on the far side of the machine asviewed in Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings and first to Figs. 1 and 4, my rotary soil working device is of the wheelbarrow type having a single, centrallyv disposed, rubber tired ground or driving wheel I which is rotatably mountedin bearings 2 in the casings or housings 3. Extending through the elongated hub 4, which projects substantially at either side of the wheel I, is a shaft 5 provided with splines 6 which prevent the shaft from turning in the hub .but permit it to move axially thereof. Mounted to rotate rfreely on the hub 4 is a first worm wheel I which forms one element of a clutch; the other member 8 of the clutch being pinned or keyed to the shaft 5 so that it rotates therewith. The clutch member 8 is provided with a clutch collar 9 adapted to cooperate with means, which will be described below, for moving the male member of the clutch into or out of engagement with the worm wheel I.

Mounted to rotate freely on the hub at the other side of the wheel I is a second worm wheel II) which also forms one member of a second clutch; the other member II of which is pinned or keyed to the shaft '5 so that it moves therewith.

Thus, if the shaft 5 is moved axially so as to bring the clutch member 8 into engagement with its cooperating element formed in the worm wheel 1, the wheel I will turn with the worm wheel I. It will also be noted that when the clutch elements I and 8 are in engagement, the clutch elements I0 and II will be out of engagement and, when the shaft 5 is moved to bring the clutch elements I0 and I I into engagement, the clutch elements I and 8 will move out of engagement and the wheel will then turn with the worm wheel I0. Thus, the ground wheel may be driven by either worm wheel, depending on the position of the clutches.

The casings 3 on the opposite sides of the wheel are secured to the hood I2 which extends over the wheel I as best shown in Fig. l, and covers I3 are bolted to the casings 3.

At the extreme front of the device is an internal combustion motor I4 having a drive shaft I5 to which is keyed or otherwise connected a clutch element I6, preferably of the type having V-shaped annular grooves in the face thereof, adapted to cooperate with complementary projections on the movable clutch member I I. With such a clutch, very little movement of the movable member is required to engage or disengage the clutch, and, with properly designed grooves,

the members engage very smoothly. The shaft I5 of the motor, at the rear end thereof, is

mounted in a bearing I8, and the clutch element I1 is provided with a sleeve I9 whichmay slide axially on the shaft I5. .Keyed or otherwise worm 34' on shaft33 meshing with worm 3 secured to the sleeve I9 is the main driving gear which has a clutch collar 2| secured thereto or integral therewith. The clutch member I! is normally held in engagement with the member l6 by means of the compression spring 22.

In order to engage and disengage the members 16 and H, I provide a shaft 23, which is mounted in a bearing 24 in the housing 25, with an eccentric pin 23 at the lower end thereof which rides in the ,clutch collar 2|. A crank'arm 21 is secured to the shaft 23 at the top thereof and a clutch operating rod 28 extends from the crank arm to the handle bar 29 where it is connected to the sleeve 29' which is slidably mounted. on.

the 'bar.

at each side thereof which are keyed to and drive the shafts 32 and 33, respectively, These shafts extend rearward 1y along each side of the ground wheel I and have worms mounted thereon, such as shown at 34 :(see Fig. 1) and 34' (see Fig. 7- which mesh with the worm wheels 1 and 19, respectively, (see Fig. 4); the worm 34 .on shaft 32 meshing with worm wheel 7 and the [9. The worm 34, as illustrated in Fig. 1, is a double threaded worm, but may be triple threaded, while the worm 34, as illustrated in Fig. 7, is a single threaded'worm. The particular threading on either worm 'is immaterial, but one of the worms and its'cooperatingworm'wheel are designed, at a given engine speed, to turn the ground wheel I two or three time as fast as the'other worm.

"-The shaft 32 terminates just beyond .the worm 34 in a bearing 35 is shown in Fig. 1, but the shaft 33 extends to the rear of the machine and into the housing 36. Within the housing 36 the shaft 33 is splined as shown at 3] and a clutch element 38including a clutch collar 39 ismounted to slide on the splined portion of the shaft 33. A bevel pinion 40 having clutch dogs 4| associated therewith and adapted to cooperate with the clutch member 33 is rotatably mounted on a reduced portion of the shaft 33 at the extreme 1- rear end thereof, and a' sleeve portion 42 .of the pinion 49 is Inounted'in the bearing 43. Cooperating with the pinion 49 isa ring gear .44 (see Fig. 4) which is keyed to the transverse shaft 45 mounted in hearings in the casingor housing 355. Keyed or otherwise secured tokthe shaft 45 is'a sprocket 43, and. a .chain. 41 (see Fig. 1) extends from the sprocket 46 to the sprocket 48 which drives the shaft v49 .on which th'e'soil working tools 59 are mounted. Thechain and sprocket 48 are enclosed in .a housing 51 and the shaft .49 is mounted in bearings 52'.(see Fig. 2) in this housing.

In order to provide a yielding, shock-absorbing connection between the sprocket 48. and the shaft 49, they are not secured rigidly together as will beapparent from .a consideration of Figs. 2 and 31in connection with the. following description. Keyed to the shaft 4,9 is a driven element 53 which is formed intwo halves 5.4 and 55 as shown in Fig. 2. The element 53, as shown, is provided with four, vane-like projections 55 which extend radially outwardly from the exterior surface thereof and are spaced 9.0" apart, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The interior of the hub of the sprocket 48 is also provided with four, similar, vane-like projections 51' extending radially inwardly and spaced apart and in circurnferentially spaced relation to. the vanes 53'. In

- the spaces between the vanes .are resilient, blocks wheel 4 58 of rubber or the like so that the driving force from the sprocket is transmitted to the shaft 49 through these blocks.

In order to engage and disengage the clutch elements on the clutch collar 39 and those on bevel pinion 40, a shaft 59 (see Figs. 1 and 4), having a fork 69 which engages the clutch collar 39 is mounted in a bearing 6! in the side of the housin 6, and an u ward y-extendin hand lever 62 is connected to the shaft 45-9 on the outside of the housing 36.

To start a forward movement of the machine and to change the speed of this movement, I

provide a means for moving the clutch elements 8 and II, shown in Fig. 4 in neutral position,

so that the wheel l is driven either from the worm wheel -'Lwhich is the low speed, or through the worm wheel H] which is the high speed. Thus, referring to Figs. 1 and 6, I provide a shaft 63 having an eccentric projection 64 at the lower end thereof which :rides in the clutch .collar 9. Aheari-ng 35 for theshaft 63 maybe castintegral with the casing cover ;l3. Pinned to the upper end of the shaft -63 is a collar 66, and pinned t the collar is an element 61 .to which .in turn is pinned the element 158 having an eye therein adapted to receive the hooked end 10 of the rod TH which extends .up to the-handle 29,. The upper end of the rod 'H is provided with :a hand grip -12 {forming a T head for the rod .fll. One half of this T head may be painted red orsome other suitable color, as shown at 1 3, and the rod may be .so adjusted that, :for example, when the T head is horizontal, the clutches are i neutral as shown in Fig. .4; when the red end 056 11 1 head isilp. t e machine-is inhigh g ar; and when the red .end is down, the machine is 1 9W s a In order to steer and control the machine, a pair of handle-bars 29 (see Figs. 1 and ,5) is .providedwhich may be attached to the machine at any suitable place such as shown at '14 Fig. l. Qne of the handle-bars maybe provided with a throttlecontrolling lever 15 which is con.- nected to the throttle valve of the motor by means of a Bowden wire 1-6.

At times, it is. desirable to guide the machine from the side instead of from the rear and, in order tofacilita-te this, I provide an extra handle 3;! which i pivotally connected to the cross bar l8 between the handle-bars 29 as shown at 1.9. By sw i th handle upwardly about the axis of the cross bar -i-8 and then swinging it ,downwardly into the position shown in dottedoutline at -11. The operator may stand at one side of the machine andgrasp both the handle 11 and the adjacent handle-bar 29. A latch .80 is provided, for locking they handle H in the position shown in the dotted lines.

In order to provide a stand for the machine so that it will remain upright when not in .operation and to assist the. operator in maintaining the machine upright when in operation, as with a mowing attachment .or the'like, I providethe wheels or rollers 8| (see Figs. 1 and .4) which are mounted at the lower end of the rods 82 at opposite sides of the machine so that the bottoms of the rollers are at about the same elevation as'the bottom of the ground wheel. The rods 92 are pivotally connected to the wheel housing l2 as shown at 83. Pivotally connected tothe upper ends of the rods 82 are rods 94 which, in turn, are pivotally connected to the'hand lever 8;: at 9|, just beyond the points 86' where the hand lever is connected to the. machine. 'By

swinging the hand lever 86 to the position shown in dotted outline, the rollers 8| may be raised from the ground; When the hand lever 86 is in the position shown in solid outline in Fig. 1, the rods 82 bear against the frame of the machine, as shown at 88, andthe pivotal connections9l are b'elow,or have passed beyond the-axis of the connections 86 so that shock or force acting on the rollers 8i and tending to swing them backwardly about their pivotal connections 83 is prevented. 7

In order to'limit the extent to which the soil worked by the tools 50 is thrown thereby, a hood 89 which is pivotally connected to the frame at 90 is provided. I 7

It will be noted from Figs. 1 and 4 that the shafts '32 and 33 are formed in a plurality of sections which are connected together by the splined couplings 92. It will also be noted that the frame ofthe machine is formed from a plurality of separate casings or housings which are bolted together. Thus, it is possible readily to detach the soil working tools together with their driving mechanism, or the motor and the main clutch and driving gears as single units for inspection, repair or replacements.

While I have described and illustrated my invention in its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that in many instances, due to the small scale of the drawings, details such as bearings and other small parts cannot be illustrated except in a more or less conventional manner and, in many instances, are omitted entirely in order more clearly to illustrate the essential features of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a rotary soil working device, the combination with a plurality of rotary soil working tools and mountings therefor, of a ground wheel, a motor, means for supporting said tools, mountings, and motor on said wheel, mechanism including a shaft operatively connecting saidtools and said motor, means for operatively connecting said shaft to said wheel to drive said wheel, and alternate means independent of said shaft for driving said wheel.

2. In a rotary soil working device of the wheelbarrow type, the combination with a motor, of a plurality of rotary soil working tools and mountings therefor, a ground wheel positioned between said motor and said tools, two shafts driven by said motor, one at each side of said wheel, means including a clutch for operatively connecting one of said shafts to said tools, separate means for driving said wheel from either of said shafts but at different speeds, and means for operatively and selectively connecting said driving means to said wheel.

3. In a rotary soil working device of the wheelbarrow type, including a motor, a plurality of rotary soil working tools, mountings for said tools and mechanism for driving said tools from said motor, the combination with a ground wheel for propelling said device over the ground, of a plurality of shafts, means for operatively connecting said shafts to said motor to be simultaneously driven thereby, separate means for driving said ground wheel from each of said shafts, and a clutch for selectively and operatively connecting said ground wheel to either of said driving means.

4. In a rotary soil working device of the wheelbarrow type, including a motor, a plurality of rotary soil working tools, mountings for said tools and mechanism for driving said tools from said ground wheel.

motor, the combination with a ground wheel a gear element cooperating with one of said pair of gears, and a clutch for selectively connecting either of said pair of gears to said ground wheel for driving said wheel from said motor.

5. In a rotary soil working device of the wheelbarrow type having a single driving wheel and a plurality of rotary soil working tools, the combination with a motor, of a pair of shafts extend ing longitudinally of said device for driving said wheel and said soil working tools, means for operatively connecting said shafts to said motor to be driven thereby in the same direction, and means, including manually actuated means, for operatively and selectively connecting either of said shafts to said driving wheel.

6. In a rotary soil working device of the wheelbarrow type, including a motor, a plurality of rotary soil working tools, mountings for said tools and mechanism for driving said tools from said motor, the combination with a ground Wheel having an elongated hub, a worm wheel mounted to rotate freely on said hub on each side of said ground Wheel, a pair of shafts driven by said motor and disposed on opposite sides of said ground wheel, a worm on each of said shafts in mesh with the adjacent worm wheel on said sub, and manually actuated means for drivingly connecting either of said worm wheels to said '7. A rotary soil working device comprising in combination a motor, a plurality of rotary soil working tools, a ground wheel, a plurality of gear elements and bearings therefor coaxial with said ground wheel upon which said gear elements may freely rotate, means for driving said tools from said motor, a plurality of shafts driven by said motor each having a gear element thereon cooperating with and driving one of said first mentioned gear elements, the gear ratios of said cooperating pairs of gear elements differing from each other; and a clutch for selectively coupling either of said first mentioned gear elements to said ground wheel for driving the same at different speeds with the same motor speed. I

8. The structure set forth in claim 7 in which the last mentioned gear elements are worms.

9. In a driving and change speed mechanism for a rotary soil working device having a motor, and a ground wheel, the combination with a hub on said ground wheel of a splined shaft mounted in said hub and rotatable therewith but slidable axially therein, a gear on each side of said ground wheel, and a bearing for each of said gears coaxial with said wheel on which said gears may rotate independently of said wheel, means for simultaneously driving said gears from said m0- tor but at different speeds, and means on said shaft for operatively and selectively coupling either of said gears to said wheel for driving the same.

10. A rotary soil working device comprising a ground wheel having an elongated hub, a worm gear mounted to rotate freely on said hub on each side of said ground wheel, a driving motor, a pair of shafts driven by said motor, one on each side of said ground wheel, and each having a worm thereon cooperating with one of said worm gears; the worm and its cooperating gear on one side of said ground wheel having a substantially different gear ratio than the worm and gear on the other side of said ground wheel, an axially slid- .able shaft coaxial withrsaid ground wheel and means drivingly connecting it to said wheel, a clutch element ;on said :shaft adjacent each of said worm gears adapted drivingly toconnect the adjacent worm gear to .said shaft, rotary soil working tools, and means drivingly connecting said tools .to one of said shafts; whereby, at a given motor speed, the :rate at which said device is .prcpelledoverthe ground maybe .changedwithout changing the rate at which :said tools are driven,

11. A rotary soil WOiiflllg device comprising a rame, a single, centrally-disposed ground wheel rotatably mounted in said frame -a motor positioned in front of said ground Wheel, a transtransversely extending shaft; said frame, handles,

motor, and said transversely extending-shaft with said tools thereon being substantially symmetrically disposed about a vertical plane through the center of said wheel and perpendicular to the axis thereof; whereby said device is substantially balanced with respect to said plane and the operation thereof from said handles is facilitated.

12. A rotary soil working device comprising a frame, a single, centrally-disposed ground wheel rotatably mounted in said frame a motor positioned in front of said ground wheel, a transversely extending shaft rotatably mounted behind said ground wheel andhaving soil working tools thereon, handles extending rearwardly of said device for operating the same, a main shaft extending longitudinally of said device alongside .said ground Wheel, means including a first clutch drivingly connecting said motor to said main shaft, means including 'a second clutch drivingly connecting said .main shaft to said wheel, and [means including a th'ud clutch drivingly con- ;necting said main shaft to said transversely extending :shaft; said frame, handles, motor, and said-tranversely extending shaft with said tools thereon being substantially symmetrically disposed about a vertical plane through the center of said wheel and perpendicular to the axis thereof; whereby said device is substantially balanced with respect to said plane and the operation thereof from said handles is facilitated.

13. A rotary soil working device comprising in combination a motor, a plurality of rotary soil working tools, a ground wheel, a gear element and a bearing therefor coaxial with said ground .wheel on whichsaid gear element is freely rotatable independently of said ground wheel, a shaft driven by said motor for driving said tools, a wormon said shaft cooperating directly withsaid gear element, and clutch mechanism for operatively connecting said gear element to said ground wheel for driving said wheel therefrom.

CA'DWALLADER W. KELSEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 904,326 Henderson Nov. 17, 19 08 1,817,848. Rogers Aug. 4, 1931 1,936,606 Nicholson Nov. .28, 1933 1,952,091 Nicholson Mar. 27, 1934 1,975,417 Dufour Oct. 2,. .1934 2,368,290 Donald Jan. 30, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 384,811 Germany Nov. 6, 1923 213,241 Great Britain Nov. 20, 1924 420,542 Great Britain Dec. 4, 1934 

